Just thought I would share:
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hmm, I though that was odd- as the hives pictured in that article are different than the ones I saw in another article- but then I noticed you can see Notre Dame in the background of the photo. Here is another article with a picture of the actual hives- which look very similar to flow hives:
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b&q=cnn+hives+notre+dame
Thank you for the update. The first photos that I saw showed one deep per hive, and no super. I was wondering how 60,000 bees per hive could fit into such a small space. Now in the more recent photos, I see a deep and a couple of smaller boxes, it looks more believable. For our new beekeepers, a Langstroth deep frame, if completely covered with bees on both sides, will have about 2,000 - 2,500 bees on it. If you have 8 frame deep boxes and they are totally full, you have at least 16,000 bees per box. If you have double brood, 32,000 bees. If you have supers on top, well the sky is the limit! 
Of course if you are running 10 frame boxes, that will be 20,000 per box etc.
The deeps look deeper than Langstroth deeps to me, which would be consistent with Dadant deeps - pretty much a standard for brood boxes in France. So they may have more bees just from that.
The other thing I wanted to do was to translate the Instagram post from beeopic. Google translate does a pretty good job, but I have been trying to speak French for more than 45 years, so this is beneficial for my brain:
An ounce of hope!
The pictures taken by different drones show that the 3 hives are still in place … and clearly intact!
As to who the occupants may be, the mystery remains intact. (Implies that he is worried about whether the hives absconded). Smoke, heat, water … we will see if our brave bees are still with us as soon as we have access to the site, which may take a lot of time.
You will, of course, be kept up to date.
We wish to thank you for all your messages of support, which touch us enormously. 
Bon courage to all Parisien beekeepers. 
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This story was told on SBS News last night.